Storm of the Heart
by Caelum Tsubasa
Summary: Two years after being washed up on the shores of Destiny Islands, Sora has adjusted back into his old life. However, the one person he needs most seems to be only a fading memory… to find the answers, Sora must begin to search his own heart.
1. Chapter 1

**I claim no ownership of Kingdom Hearts whatsoever. Don't we all wish we did, though…**

Summary: Two years after being washed up on the shores of Destiny Islands, Sora has adjusted back into his old life. However, the one person he needs most seems to be only a fading memory… to find the answers, Sora must begin to search his own heart.

Rating- PG-13 (Some innuendo, language)

_Text_ indicates internal thought/dialogue; _text in paragraphs_ usually indicates a dream sequence. (It should be easy enough to differentiate, but just let me know if there's confusion.)

**---Chapter One- Lost at Home---**

_Riku…_

_The warm sun and fey breeze teased with his hair and caressed his feverish cheeks as he staggered through the sand. To him, the cheerful golden orb in the sky was an oppressive dictator; a reminder of who he had been. _

_He wanted the moon to return…_

_The little gusts that kicked up sand were an unwanted presence- a reminder of other people who had gone through his life, there in front of him until he reached out to touch their hands and faces… they had been nothing more than reflections of the past._

_Where had all the years gone?_

_His final destination was an indistinct object far in the distance. All around him, he was a prisoner of the land he was on, the sky that rested above and on top of him, and the endless sea before him. The sea, he must cross it. He knew he had to somehow cross that accursed burden on his heart to get to the other side- to tell the next part of his story._

_I need you, Riku…_

_With a twig in his mouth, he stood at the shoreline and stared. It was the same as always. The water gently lapped at his sore and aching bare feet, while he remained still and waited… _

_Show me where you are…_

"_Riku! I-I need you!" His cry echoed once and then the normal silence returned. So smothering and familiar. Forlornly scanning the distant horizon, he could see storm clouds approaching from the east. On the other side, the sun had started to set, casting a bloody hue over the sky while refracting the ocean into a thousand tiny pieces of light. _

_The dark clouds rolled in and the breeze became a series of gusts, and then a howling wind. He remained where he was and plead with the storm to pick him up and carry him away, anywhere but here. He needed to leave and find his friend. _

_He needed to know that he was more than a faded reflection._

_A particularly fierce blast of wind flung him down onto his back in the sand. He ignored the bits of shell and rock that itched and dug in everywhere as he fought to stand back up, screaming into the wind:_

"_Riku! I'm coming! Just wait for me, please wait!"_

_And then the darkness closed in all around him._

---

"SORA! You did it again!" teased Kairi as she helped him free himself from the sheets that he had entangled himself in during the night. Sora said nothing as he was gradually released, not until he was at an awkward angle with Kairi.

"Kairi, if my mom sees us like this…"

"She's gone, silly. It's just you and me today. Besides," she grinned, "it's not like we've never been like this before."

"Yeah, but it's not exactly something I enjoy waking up to…" he gulped as Kairi settled herself just above his groin in a straddle. His nervous eyes locked on to her own playful ones as she slowly leaned in inch-by-inch, until her lips lightly brushed his as she whispered "good morning".

Sora closed the gap and kissed her in reply.

---

"You guys sure are up early! Must not've stayed up too late last night, eh?"

"Wakka, stop insinuating things! Everyone knows they do it in the Seaside Shack!"

"Ooh, Tidus, you're just as bad as Wakka! Kairi, Sora, I'm sorry!" Selphie apologized as she bowed on her other friends' behalves. "They're just too stupid to keep their mouths shut."

Sora and Kairi grinned widely as Tidus and Wakka started to defend themselves. "It's okay, guys. We know you're just feeling lonely because Selphie doesn't like either of you!" jeered Sora.

"Hey man, you got it all wrong!" cried Tidus, brandishing his staff. "Take it back!"

"Who's gonna make me?" he pretended to sneer arrogantly. Kairi simply walked over to join Selphie and let the boys solve their problems in their own way. Sora, meanwhile, was about to be double-teamed by a playfully angry Tidus and a somewhat stung Wakka.

"We are, ya lazy bum! Heads up!"

And so the daily sparring session had begun.

"So Kairi, what's up?" asked Selphie once Sora, Wakka, and Tidus started fighting. She and Kairi had gotten used to this morning ritual a while ago, back when Sora had first started to think of Kairi as more than a friend. The other boys wouldn't let up on him about it, so Sora had decided to teach them a lesson- only, now it was a daily occurrence. The girls would simply chat and gossip a little bit until the boys had finished.

"Oh, not much. But Sora had another bad night I think…"

"Ouch. That's the tenth one in a row, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Kairi tilted her head back and sighed. "It wasn't so bad when they came about once a month, but now it's gotten to the point that I think he's going to end up choking himself in his sheets or something before they stop on their own. It's unsettling, but I honestly don't think I can help him more than being there when he wakes up…" she closed her eyes and let the gentle island breeze caress her face and lift her shoulder-length auburn hair a little bit. It was such a gorgeous day, so there was no room for concern, not yet…

Selphie sensed that Kairi was trying her best to be happy and not be dragged down by Sora's troubles. "You could always try sleeping _with_ him, you know…"

"Selphie! Not you too!" laughed Kairi. "Do I have to start sparring with you every morning like Sora does to your boy-toys?"

"Ooh, Kairi, that's low! But you know I'd beat you every time," she added with a malicious grin.

"Nu-uh! Sora's been teaching me how to fight!"

"Yeah-uh, because I've been at it for years and you've just started!"

They continued to banter and brag back and forth until Sora staggered up and stood triumphantly in front of them, panting and sporting a goofy grin, his wooden sword back in his belt loop.

"Ah, here is! Sora, tell her- I've been getting a lot better!" insisted Kairi.

"Sure you have! But you've still got a ways to go!"

Selphie smiled and waved goodbye as Kairi chased Sora towards the docks. Tidus and Wakka came and stood on either side of her, and the three of them watched as Sora dove into the clear waters. The small fish in the vicinity scattered as he hit the water, with Kairi not far behind him. Their faces were slightly clouded as the apparently happy couple splashed playfully at each other, temporarily forgetting their worries.

All three knew that they were only avoiding the trouble that was brewing, but none of them had the heart to disrupt the fragile peace of the island.

---

At noon, Sora and Kairi retired to a little nook that was overshadowed by a large rock-ledge and shielded from view by strands of moss and vines. The soft sand was perpetually cool to the touch even on the most brutally hot days because of this, and it also served as a temporary rain shelter if a sudden summer shower happened to visit the Destiny Islands, which was how Kairi had found it almost a year ago- a thunderstorm had started up from out of nowhere, and she and Sora had desperately been searching for shelter when she had noticed a gap in the seemingly impenetrable curtain of lichen and ivy. From then on it had been their special secret place, much like the hidden cave had been when they were younger.

But they had long since out-grown their old childhood haunts.

"Heh, Sora, that was fun! Though my mom's going to think you're abusing me if I keep coming home with all these bruises."

"I keep telling you that you need to be constantly on-guard! If your defense was better, you wouldn't have nearly as many marks!" Sora grinned and poked Kairi in the shoulder. "But you definitely blocked more today than yesterday."

"Ow!" She batted his hand away. "Thanks though."

The two of them remained silent after that and cuddled with each other, watching the shafts of sunlight shift and change lazily through the vines. Occasionally a mild breeze would find its way through and bring the tangy scent of salt from the ocean with it. All around them, a tranquil silence prevailed and seeped into their consciousnesses, causing them to become drowsy with the efforts of their recent workout and the idyllic nature of the afternoon itself.

Just as he felt himself starting to slide back into sleep, Sora felt Kairi gently squeeze his hand. He smiled faintly, but was too far gone to do much else.

"_You are the one… who will open the door…"_

How many times had he heard that said to him by the mysterious disembodied voice? The simple phrase continually echoed throughout his mind, day in and day out, even though years had passed since his journey had come to an abrupt end.

_Sora, remember…_

---Flashback---

He had been having another falling dream. It was just like the one that he had had for the past month; he was falling in what he could only assume to be water since he was breathing out bubbles, though he never seemed to have trouble drawing in another breath. A light at some distant point above him illuminated only him and his downward descent, shifting and changing as he continued to fall.

The fact that this was a recurring dream didn't bother Sora much- it was harmless enough. It was the second half that always made him afraid to go to sleep at night.

It invariably started just after he had begun to make out some sort of platform below him. It seemed to reflect the light that illuminated him with bright, rosy colors and sometimes, Sora would get far enough that he could discern a pattern that looked as though it was made of stained glass. His heart would flutter in anticipation- this was almost exactly like the first time, where he had had to leave Destiny Islands to save his friends and other worlds from the terrible power of Ansem. He didn't ever deny to himself that he wouldn't mind doing something like that again.

Though this time around, Sora felt that he'd get Riku back at all costs.

As he grew nearer and nearer to the platform, Sora would always feel himself slowing down. He struggled to continue as he came to a complete stop, then would begin to panic as total darkness closed in all around him when the light from above went out, desperately wishing that he wasn't alone to fight the nameless fear that was eating away at him from unknown and untouched places in his heart.

_Sora!_

He heard a familiar voice calling him.

_Sora, open your eyes!_

"RIKU!" he'd yell into to shadows, his eyes flying open.

As soon as he screamed his name, he was standing on a beach not unlike the ones he was used to at Destiny Islands. From there he would begin the long, grueling trek to the shoreline in nothing but shorts and a lightweight t-shirt, neither of which did much to protect him from the blistering sun. If he tried to deviate and go anywhere but towards the ocean, Sora's body would double over and shudder with a great, aching pain. His only choice was to go towards the far-off shoreline, even though he knew it would end badly every time.

As soon as he reached his prescribed destination, the water gently lapping at his feet and soothing the burns from the sand, he would start calling for Riku. Even when the sun set and the storm whipped up, Sora would plead with howling winds and call out for his missing friend. From there, as soon as he was flung on his back, darkness would envelop him again, and he'd awaken shaking and sweating in his bed.

As much as he didn't like having those dreams, he couldn't stop them. They had started two years to the day after Kairi had found him on the beach- a month ago now-, apparently washed up with the tide like driftwood. She had taken him home with the help of Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka, where his mother promptly began to panic. Sora spent the next few days recuperating and trying to figure out what had happened as Kairi visited him daily, filling him in on the news he had missed while he was unconscious, taking care of him, sometimes even bringing things she thought he'd like, such as a water-polished rock that looked as though it had a hidden light in its murky depths. In this way Sora was caught back up to speed with life on Destiny Islands, but some things didn't quite fit as they should have.

No one on the island even so much as remembered the Heartless attack that had destroyed their home, for starters. When Sora's confused and disoriented babble after he first regained consciousness came to the part where the Darkside Heartless destroyed Destiny Islands, Kairi had laughed lightly and dismissed _everything_ as a dream. Sora refused to accept that for a while- he knew without a doubt that it had happened. His entire journey with Goofy and Donald couldn't have been a lie! After he had closed Kingdom Hearts, he, Goofy, and Donald had set out on the long road to find the King and Riku, following Pluto as they went. Along the way they had had quite an adventure in Castle Oblivion… though his memory always got uncharacteristically fuzzy when it came to that part.

Secondly, no one remembered Riku at _all_. Sora had been struck with disbelief when Kairi told him that she had never heard of him before. He had refuted that, too- Riku had been the one who started the whole thing, really; he had the crazy idea of building a raft and leaving the island to explore for new worlds- but then Kairi started to worry that Sora's head had been hit quite hard before he washed up on the shore.

By the way, did he remember how that had happened?

Sora thought back as hard as he could, but… the earliest memory he could find before waking up in his bed was being surrounded by a bitterly cold darkness. Broken and distorted voices called out to him from all directions, each one claiming to be Riku. Sora had been so lost and so heartbroken at that time… he didn't want to keep going. He had simply laid down where he was and willed himself to forget his pain, floating away into the forgiving darkness.

He told Kairi that no, he couldn't.

After he was allowed to get back up and move around, Sora relied heavily on Kairi to help him to adjust back into his old life, at least until he could figure out where to go next. Several times he tried to jog her memory by mentioning Traverse Town, where she had given him her special good luck charm down in the water way, or how she had appeared before him just after Kingdom Hearts had been closed and all the worlds restored to their rightful places in the sky, but she only worried after him for suffering brain damage. Soon enough he dropped it altogether and focused solely on training himself to be ready for the next time. He felt that whatever had happened, there was still something for him to do.

But his dreams always contained Riku as well as the sense that, even though he was growing accustomed to spending time only with Kairi, he wanted something else. Sora felt incomplete in a deep and very hidden part of his being. He couldn't explain it to Kairi without risking hurting her feelings. Besides, she didn't remember Riku. He, Sora, was the only one who held the memory of their former friend in his heart.

Sora wished that he could reach the platform in the beginning of his dreams. He felt that if he did, then somehow, everything else would fall into place.

_Sora… don't ever forget- you are the one who will open the door to the light._

---End Flashback, Begin Dream Sequence in the Present---

_Sora inwardly sighed as he tried to squash the hope budding in his chest. It was the same dream again. Falling, slowly rotating as the light shifted all around him in its narrow beam… he let the sigh out and watched the stream of bubbles float back to the surface as he continued his descent into the depths. He could feel a weight of unusual expectancy around him as the platform's outline started to form down below._

"_I can't hope," he whispered, "because it's going to be the same."_

_The light began to illuminate the stained glass, reflecting vivid oranges, yellows, and reds mingled with warm brown and peach tones. _

"_This is it- I should be stopping right about now."_

_Almost as soon as he said it, Sora felt himself slowing down. He didn't bother to fight it as his body gradually stopped and hovered above the stain-glassed platform. This was the farthest he had ever gotten before, which made him grin bitterly. He could now easily discern the pattern that the glass made- it was of a beautiful girl in a simple yet elegant yellow dress, her long brown hair partially pulled up. Her eyes were closed as she appeared to be making a wish to a gorgeous red rose in a glass container, some of its petals falling off even though it looked perfectly healthy. There were smaller designs around the border; one resembled an enormous, ferocious beast, one a handsome young man, and some looked like common things one would find in a wealthy mansion- a clock, a candelabra, a fine tea set- with shadows of people in the background. Sora knew who the girl and the beast were- Belle and Beast. He had helped Beast free Belle, his love, from the clutches of Maleficent and Riku at Hollow Bastion. _

_Sora shuddered with the memory of what had happened at that strange castle. Riku, who had been possessed by Ansem, had fought Sora in front of the Keyhole for Kairi's heart. Sora had won, though it was thanks to the real Riku that all of them had been able to escape… after that, Sora had turned himself into a heartless in order to free Kairi's and the other six Princesses' hearts. Kairi's faith in him had restored him to his former self, but Sora never forgot that it was because of Riku that he had been able to do any of it._

_Including locking him and the King inside of Kingdom Hearts._

"_D-damn… Riku…" _

_He started to cry, unable to stop hiding from his pain any longer. His tears didn't mingle with the water he was suspended in- instead, they fell down like tiny diamonds, making little ringing sounds as they hit the glass. Each note was clear and soft, creating a sorrowful and longing melody. Sora's tears fell faster and faster, the song and his own recollections spurring his emotions into a dramatic crescendo._

_He started to fall again and was gently flipped upright so that he landed feet-first on the platform. Sora wiped his tears away and the melody ended on an unresolved note, leaving him with an aching melancholy in hi heart. He bowed his head and stood for a while, gathering himself together and making sure that it was indeed real- he had reached his destination at long last… though it seemed far too easy to be much of a good thing…_

"_Sora…"_

_Sora whirled around as his heart began to pound in his chest. There was Riku, torn and battered, standing right behind him._

"_Riku!" he cried joyfully and made as if to envelop his long-lost friend in a hug, but he was suddenly frozen in place._

"_Sora, you've forgotten where you are. You don't remember what happened. You're lost!"_

"_What! I've been looking for you all this time, having the same exact dream for so long now- I haven't forgotten! I'm on Destiny Islands with Kairi and everyone else, and I _know_ if you come back, then everything will be right again. They'll remember everything! Just, please…" _

_Riku stepped forward and gently wiped Sora's tears away. "Sora, you're better than this… remember that. Remember that though we're worlds apart, I'm always with you. But you must wake up, Sora. You can't change anything by staying asleep and running away."_

"_What? Riku, I'm dreaming now, I know, but when I wake up, I'll be with Kairi in our secret place… oh please Riku, just tell me where you are so I can help you! I-I need you!" Sora's voice and eyes plead with all his heart as he tried to make Riku understand. "I don't feel right without you, nothing does! You've got to come back and then I won't be lost any more!"_

"_Oh Sora, you'd be lost with or without me there…" Riku put his strong arms around Sora and embraced him lovingly. "But you really do have to wake up. You can't keep living in dreams."_

"_R-Riku!"_

_Everything faded out but Riku, who pulled back and smiled at him with profound sadness and hope at the same time._

"_Take another look from the other side…"_

_He too faded out and Sora was released. He immediately crumpled and pounded the invisible floor, his emotions too strong for words._

---

Sora's eyes flashed open. He was shaking all over, tears streaming down his face and throat raw. Kairi's face hovered over his with the most frightened expression he had ever seen.

"Oh my god, Sora… you, you're…" she collapsed on top of him and hugged him tightly. "I didn't know what to do! Oh my god, you're okay…"

Sora still couldn't speak, so he instead used his free arm to awkwardly return her embrace and his hand to comb through her hair.

"You fell asleep and I-I just let you go 'cause I know you've been s- so tired lately, and it looked o-okay for a while so I started to drift off too, but… but then you started to cry a-a lot, and I tried to wa-wake you up. You didn't and then s-started screaming, shaking so badly… I didn't kn-know what to do at all… oh, I'm so glad you-you're okay!" she sobbed into his chest.

Sora continued to run his hands through Kairi's hair until she calmed down without saying a word. Outside, through the gaps in the vines, he could see that the setting sun was tinting the sky a bloody red, refracting its own light off the water of the ocean in millions of tiny fragments of rainbow-hued crystals.

A storm was rolling in from the east.

---

A/N: Updating on this will be very sporadic, but I wanted to get it up here. Let me know what you think please!


	2. Chapter 2

**Still don't own Kingdom Hearts!**

Rating: PG-13 (innuendo, swearing)

_Text _is internal dialogue or thought; _text in paragraphs_ is a dream sequence.

**---Chapter Two- Bitter Confusion---**

"Sora, come on, we're almost there! Hurry!" Kairi screamed. The wind threw her words back behind her and out to sea, where the waves were becoming larger and the water choppier by the second. Every now and then a low rumble would indicate that the lightning that was still miles away was drawing closer and closer with each strike.

Sora swore as he slipped on the rain-slicked wood of the dock and nearly fell, throwing out his arms at the last minute and avoiding a direct face-plant. He picked himself up and ran as fast as he could to join Kairi in their boat that would take them back to his house- hopefully- before the waters became too rough. He skidded as he reached her and they both jumped in, hearts pounding as Sora had trouble untying the soaked rope from its complex knot.

_This is the _last_ time I tie security knots!_ He thought savagely to himself. He nearly cried with relief as the knot slid free and Kairi used a pole to push them away from the dock. From there they battled the ferocious water and winds to reach their destination- a small island about a quarter mile away, though with the weather, it might as well have been fifteen. Sora and Kairi grimly battled against the waves that lifted their tiny two-person driftwood boat to frightening heights and dropped them off of enormous crests into low troughs, each time causing them to ferverently hope that the next wave wouldn't crash down on them and consequently smash them to bits. Though there was no sail on their boat, the wind played havoc with where they landed after dropping off a crest and lashed the rain mercilessly into their unprotected faces. Sora and Kairi could hardly keep their eyes open as they struggled on to Sora's home.

"Kairi, we're too far left!" he shouted, briefly taking a hand off of his paddle to shield his eyes from the torrential rain and get a better idea of where they were in relation to the island. What he found was discouraging- for all their efforts, the tide and the wind were taking them farther out to sea.

"WHAT?" The wind only brought her Sora's panicked voice in fragments. She was in the front of the boat, while Sora was in the back; he was the stronger of the two and therefore best suited to act as the rudder.

"WE'RE TOO FAR LEFT!"

She didn't respond with words but simply paddled harder on the right side, trying to aim for what she hoped was their destination. Sora said nothing else as he focused his strength entirely on keeping them on-course. In the long stretch of time that followed, the two of them would swear that they were nearly tossed overboard to drown, capsized, or crushed by the waves so many times that they became numb not only in body but in mind as well. Their muscles ached with the strain, already slightly worn out from their earlier sparring session. The heaving sea underneath them fought the two for every inch that they gained. How long this lasted, they couldn't tell. Time became a trivial matter as they struggled against the forces of nature that surrounded them and seemed to laugh with cruelty and malice as their weary bodies began to flag.

Suddenly, they were shot up high by another crest. Through the rain and blinding flashes of lighting- they had come close to being struck many, many times as well, but their luck in so far as that went seemed to be holding- Kairi was able to give a few second's warning before they were brutally hurled towards the shoreline. They both screamed as they flew towards land, grasping the sides of the craft and bracing themselves for a crushing impact. As soon as they hit, the tide washed over them and nearly swept them back out to sea, but Kairi and Sora struggled with all their might against the current and ended up on the beach coughing and spluttering as they tried to get the remaining sea water out of their lungs.

Sora quickly grasped Kairi's hand and forced her to run behind him as another wave came barreling up behind them. He silently said farewell to the now destroyed boat whose remnants were destined to become wandering driftwood again as he and Kairi ran blindly through the small jungle on a well-beaten trail, the wind still driving the rain towards them.

_It's almost as if it's trying to stop us from getting home…_

Sora grimaced in determination and forged ahead. Kairi stumbled and did her best to keep up behind him, never complaining even as her fatigue began to outpace her adrenaline spike. Both of them knew the path well and had no doubts about where they were going- it was getting there that was the problem. Soon enough, however, the dim shape of a house became visible, and Sora and Kairi cried out with hope and relief. Their hellish journey was finally going to end.

---

Sora's mother greeted them enthusiastically at the door and ushered them quickly inside. Seemingly from nowhere she procured hot chocolate and dry towels, fussing and worrying over her son and his girlfriend as they laughed shakily and assured her over and over again that they were okay.

"Mom, we're fine! Just a little tired is all," said Sora, trying to hide a yawn behind one of his gloved hands. All he received as a reply was a "do you really think I'm _that_ stupid?" look as his mom insisted instead that he had nearly died.

_Okay, we did on several occasions, but… we're fine now. Maybe only comparatively, but Kairi and I are going to be okay!_ he thought as he sipped his hot chocolate, mindful of the fact that it would burn his tongue otherwise. Sora watched with mild amusement as his mother hovered around Kairi- was she okay, she should take a warm shower and get out of those cold, wet clothes before she got sick, she should let her parents know she was safe, and so on. Sora would have felt slighted if he actually cared about receiving attention, but as it was, he simply cheered silently to himself that he wasn't the one being subjected to care and concern. It wasn't that he didn't love his mom, he just didn't appreciate being fussed over.

That was probably why he sometimes freaked out on Donald- that guy worried over absolutely _everything_…

The thought of Donald brought a slew of memories to the foreground in his mind: when he had met Donald and Goofy for the first time after they had fallen on him, his first time as a Gummi Ship pilot, wrestling Donald for the controls and crashing them on the Jungle World with Tarzan and Jane and the gorillas, as well as the evil Clayton, plus so many more-

Sora violently shook his head to clear them away. This wasn't the time to get caught up in the past.

"Ack! Sora, watch it," his mom said as water sprayed everywhere. "If you're going to do that, go to your room or the bathroom!"

"Sorry," he said with a rueful grin. "But doesn't Kairi have first dibs on the shower?" If she did, then that would give him some time to tidy up his room and collect himself, swallow the emotions that were beginning to resurface in his heart.

"You bet I do! I won't be long though."

Kairi moaned a bit as she got up and walked stiffly out of the kitchen and deeper into the house. She had been here often and knew Sora's place as well as her own. Sora watched her go, a strange mixture of feelings surfacing as she left.

"Sora honey, are you sure you're okay? You look like you're in an awful lot of pain…" his mom gently brushed his bangs aside, then caressed his cheek, her blue eyes full of concern.

Sora knew she only meant well by him, but he just didn't feel like talking- all the events of the day were beginning to catch up to his body. His throat was already stinging with the abuse he had put it through. The rest of him just ached all over.

He smiled and shook his head, pointing to his throat to indicate that it hurt. She smiled back and groaned softly in sympathy, but since they had nothing for it, she simply hugged him and said she'd clean his room up before Kairi came up. Sora hugged her back in gratitude and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself after she left. Being alone always made even the warmest room a little cooler.

---

Two showers and some more warm food later, Sora and Kairi were in his room, watching the storm's devastating beauty from the bedroom window. They held each other close and thought about how near they had come to becoming victims of it- any longer out there and they'd probably be under those waves right now, unconscious and lost forever. As it was, though, Kairi was cuddling on Sora's side as he held her gently, his head resting on hers. Her arm was wrapped loosely around his waist, other hand intertwined with his free one. Over the noise of the thunder and howling wind they could hear Soyo, Sora's mom, bustling around downstairs, cleaning up after them and wet mess they had created in the kitchen. The only light source was the lightning flashes through the windows, illuminating the landscape in eerie shades of blue and grey for split seconds at a time.

"Sora," whispered Kairi after a particularly loud roll of thunder, "do you want to tell me about that dream you had earlier? Maybe you'll stop having them if you explain them to somebody."

He squeezed her hand, but shook his head no and said nothing. He couldn't speak; Sora's throat was locked up tight.

"Alright. But I'm always here for you. Don't ever forget that." She closed her eyes and relaxed, letting her breathing even out.

_I won't, Kairi. But I don't think anyone can help me._

Sora continued to gaze out the window long after Kairi had fallen asleep. Something bothered him about this storm. It didn't seem natural, not at all. There was also a disturbingly familiar feel about it, strange as he found that to be. He felt an aching in his heart each time the thunder rolled; they were like voices, calling him to do something. To stand up and fight or black out and forget the world, he couldn't tell, but he was torn between the two. He didn't know what he would be fighting, nor what he would be forgetting, but the choice seemed suddenly imminent. He was to choose now. No exception.

Gently, he shifted and got up without waking Kairi. He made sure she was still asleep before ghosting his fingers over her cheek and closing the door behind him.

---

Sora stood on the beach where the driftwood boat had crashed hours before and defiantly held his ground against the wind and rain. He did his best to glare at the ominously dark sky, but the bright flashes of lightning and intense winds forced him to look away.

He wasn't sure why he had snuck out of the house and battled through the jungle to get here, only that something inside him wouldn't let him lay down next to Kairi and wait for it to pass by. It felt like this was an opportunity for him to prove something, but to whom or what he was supposed to do to accomplish that, he had no idea. Sora was standing on the beach and glaring at the sky as much as he could, wary of the ocean and its swells but also determined to stay until inspiration told him what to do next.

"What do you want from me?" he mouthed into the wind.

The thunder rolled all around him, shaking him to the root of his being.

"I'm going to fight! I'm not going to just roll over and give up, you hear me? So tell me what you want and what I have to do! I'm tired of waiting!"

Was it just him, or was the wind laughing at him?

"Tell me already!" Sora shivered as his sodden clothes offered no more warmth. He should be back inside, he didn't have the strength to be out here again, plus Kairi and his mom would be worried, but…

"I'm not leaving until you tell me where Riku is, got it?"

_He's right here. Don't you see him?_

Sora whirled around frantically, half-expecting to see his long-lost friend behind him. But there was only the blur of rain pounding the sand.

_Not there, look harder. Think harder._

"Who ARE you!" he mouthed angrily, but took the advice any way. The voice was familiar, if unwanted.

_Here… but not here. Riku's with me but still not visible. No one else remembers him but me. I almost forgot about him until those dreams started to come… about two years to the day that I apparently washed up on Destiny Islands. No one can tell me what happened before that besides the fact that I've lived here all my life. No explanation for my being out in the ocean in the first place, no reason why I have these amazing fighting skills, no memories of the Heartless invasion, no memories of my childhood, or anyone else's. Without Riku. But that's not possible… I learned how to fight from him. He and Kairi were my best friends… we used to fight over her, kinda, but… wait…_

Sora bowed his head and placed his hand over his heart. He understood.

_Riku's in my heart. Everything that's happened is there. My whole journey with Donald and Goofy, our mission to save the King and Kingdom Hearts, everyone we met along the way, especially… Riku… they're all sealed up in my heart…_

The wind suddenly knocked him on to his back. Sora struggled to get up again, but an invisible force held him there. His wrists and ankles were bound to the sand.

"I understand! Riku lives on in my heart! Everyone does!"

_Then why are you here? What happened to bring you to this place of half-formed lives and stagnant memories? Where is Riku's body now? You understand so little_. A bolt of lightning struck the ground not five feet away from his body. _What did Riku really mean to you? Who is Kairi to you, and is that what she always was? _Another bolt struck closer this time, so close that Sora could feel the energy radiating off it and smell the newly formed glass from the strike area._ You still have a long way to go._

The next bolt struck him in the heart.

_Remember, Sora- you are the door to the light._

---

_The sound of a crackling fire echoed slightly. Sora opened his eyes to see misshapen shadows dance around on a dull grey ceiling of natural rock. He tilted his head to the right and saw what he assumed to be the opening of the… cave?... that he was currently lying in. Next to the entrance were some bags and gear for a long journey, enough for two people. Two oddly shaped weapons were leaning side-by-side on the wall; one looked like a stylized dragon's wing, while the other looked like a very large key. _

_Sora couldn't take his eyes away from the two strange weapons. Something about them -the key in particular- made innumerable emotions swell up inside of him until he thought his heart would burst. Finally, he tore his eyes away and instead focused on himself and his current state. Besides being an emotional wreck, he seemed to be fine, if somewhat cold. He was lying on his back on the ground, a comfortable bed of leaves and moss underneath of him and a warm blanket on top. Sora figured that between the bed, blanket, clothes, and fire, he should have been plenty warm, but there was still an aching chill in his bones that wouldn't go away. _

_He sighed and looked back at the entrance of the cave. It was absolutely pouring outside, so hard that he couldn't see a thing beyond the curtain of rain. He smiled in spite of that- the weather didn't have an unfriendly feel to it at all; in fact, he got the impression that it was rather warm. Sora suddenly wished that he could get up and go outside, just to see if that was true._

"_Okay, let's go see if it's really warm." He whispered to himself. Sora breathed deeply once, twice, and then tensed his back muscles in anticipation of sitting up. Feeling no warning signs of pain, he smiled a little and slowly sat up, easing himself up with his arms a little bit at a time. His joints ached a bit –probably from lying in one position for a long time- but other than that, he seemed to be okay._

_Sora was almost completely sitting up when he heard someone approaching from the outside. He paused and listened carefully, considering whether it would be wiser to stay as he was or lie back down, or maybe take a chance and go for one of the weapons. He didn't know where he was or why he had lying down, but he had the impression that it was someone elses's work. There was, after all, evidence that at least one other person was in this cave some of the time._

_Caught up in his thoughts, Sora waited too long and was frozen in place as the other person stooped and walked in, still hunched over slightly, seeing as the ceiling was somewhat low. Sora's eyes widened in shock as striking teal eyes met his own through a veil of silver hair. The other person stopped as well, clearly just as surprised as Sora himself was._

"_Sora? You're awake?" he whispered, voice trembling. _

"_Ri…ku…?" Sora tried to right himself, but he moved too quickly- an intense pain pulsed up and down his spine, turning the world a uniform black colour. He cursed himself weakly before he lost his voice and leaned backwards._

_The last thing he registered was someone catching him before he fell, whispering his name and promising to see him again._

---

The next time his eyes opened, Sora found himself staring at the worried faces of his mother and Kairi in his bedroom. As soon as it was evident that he was alive and conscious, they began to alternate over yelling at him for doing something so reckless as going back out to the beach and thanking whatever spirits were listening that he was safe. Sora grinned apologetically but didn't say anything and waited it out. Soon enough, Kairi hugged him and told him to take another shower since he was coated in seawater and sand again, then the two of them left him alone, telling him to come downstairs for some lunch once he was ready.

_Lunch?_ he thought. Was it that late already? He looked out his window to see a cheerful sky free of clouds and a light breeze that teased with the tops of the palm trees. It was almost as if the storm had never happened. The sun was almost directly above, so Sora placed the time at about noon or so. _Whatever… at least I got some sleep. Though that was one hell of a night._

He got up and stretched stiffly, shaking out some of the excess sand from his hair and clothes. He then stripped down to his boxers and exited his room, not bothering to worry about anyone seeing him. Sora had no siblings, and his father had died when he was very young. Soyo had never remarried, preferring to raise Sora on her own and remaining something of a recluse from the rest of the inhabitants of Destiny Islands. She was liked well enough, sure, but many regarded her as a black sheep for wanting to stay by herself. Then there was Kairi, who had seen him like this before. Sora flushed at the memory of that night… his mom hadn't been home and Kairi had come over to spend the night. They had almost gone all the way. Almost, but not quite.

_Kairi… god… I don't know what I'd do without her. She's everything to me._ Sora stepped into the shower and turned the water on, appreciating how it ran over his skin and washed the remnants of last night away. It felt really good.

"_Who is Kairi to you, and is that what she always was?"_

_Of course,_ he reassured himself. _She's like the other half of my soul._ But the mysterious voice's words wouldn't get out of his head. Was it possible that he might have forgotten something? It seemed to be hinting at that. For the life of him, though, Sora couldn't figure out what that might have been. He had washed up on the shores of Destiny Islands two years ago with many injuries, a nasty head-wound in particular. Kairi had been there for him at every turn, ready to support him and help him recover as fast as possible, just like the sister he had always wanted her to be.

_Hold on. Kairi… as my sister? The sibling I always wished I had?_ That was… she was his girlfriend! The person he would spend his life with once they were old enough to live on their own The girl he had almost given himself to that night, when it had seemed like they were infinite, able to take on the world together and come away unscathed. Without Kairi, he would be… he would be…

_Free._

"No, I'd be lost," he tried to say, but his throat was still locked up tight. He knelt down on the cool ceramic of the bathtub and stared at the floor, ignoring the gentle water that poured into his eyes.

_Riku is the brother I wish I had, and Kairi's the one I want to marry. End of story._

_But you know there's something she could never give you. Staying with Kairi means staying the same. You'd be trapped here all your life._

Sora growled. _And I don't mind that. I like life here in the Islands. It's never dull and very comforting. I love my mom, and Kairi, and all my friends. I don't mind staying here for the rest of my life._

_What about Riku? Will you give him up to the darkness, then?_

… _I…_

_You'd rather lead a comfortable life than find your friend?_

Sora bowed his head until his bangs hid his eyes, the tears blending in with the water from the showerhead. _No. I'd never do that. I just… I don't know what's going on…_

_You'll know. The storm in your heart will eventually blow you ashore._

---

"Hey, Sora, how'ya feeling?" asked Kairi as soon as he stepped into the kitchen. He smiled and gave a thumbs-up sign before sitting down and looking for his promised lunch. He hating lying to her, well, to anyone, but he figured he should act all right instead as confused and depressed as he felt. It wouldn't help anyone.

"There you are, honey. You really scared us with that stunt last night! What possessed you to go back out to the beach in that storm? You know it's one of the worst on record, right? We're the only place that wasn't completely flooded out!" scolded his mother sternly. Sora bowed his head and made a guilty face before diving into his plate of delicious homemade food. Soyo was an amazing cook.

"Really, Sora, what's up? Did you have another nightmare or something?"

He looked up and locked eyes with Kairi, unsure of how to respond. Should he lie again or not? Slowly, he nodded his head, then winced to himself as Kairi shot a worried glance to his mom and looked back at him with great concern.

"Aww, Sora…" was all she could say. His mom came over and kissed him on the cheek, but she couldn't offer any advice either.

Sora was alone in a world full of people.

--- End Chapter II---

A/N: D: Sorry. I've been having a hard time lately... this is basically a spell- and grammar-checked version of the chapter, which is about a year overdue. It'll take me forever and a day to finish this, I won't lie, but I promise to get it done! Remember to review and tell me what I can fix, please:)


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